Education and school law cover the laws and regulations that govern federal and state education, including the administration and operation of educational institutions, school athletics, instruction methods, programs, and materials. This area of law encompasses issues relating to school faculty, staff, and students, including school discipline and discrimination based on race, color, national original, sex, or disability.
Special education law refers to the laws and regulations that govern the teaching of students with special needs. These needs may be learning or physical disabilities, behavioral problems, talents, or academic aptitude that cannot be satisfied in a regular classroom.
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre county. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 38,420, (estimated 38,720 in 2007) and roughly double that total lived in the borough plus the surrounding townships. Of that population, 20,011 or 52.1% are males and 18,409 or 47.9% are females. The town is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of the main campus of the Pennsylvania State University, colloquially referred to as Penn State. "Happy Valley" is an often-used term to refer to the State College area, including the borough and the townships of College, Harris, Patton, and Ferguson. In 2008, State College was ranked as the second safest metropolitan area in the United States by the CQ Press, and ranked safest in 2009. The area is served by University Park Airport.